April.

It been raining here, on and off over the last few days.  I love it.  The gardens love it.  Husband doesn't!  There is stuff that needs doing by him but not when it's wet.   Me, I'm not doing my stuff either but I can't blame the rain! 

I have been home for a couple of weeks now and everything that I was going to do...hasn't been done yet.  But I'm sure it will be, I just need a day or 2 at home, by myself, with no-one else here.  Not sure that that is gunna happen any time soon though.  Husband has a few days work coming up then maybe a week or 2 more but the talk is that there will be a few months of nothing.  At least we have food and money in the bank to pay the bills.  HoHum, another lean Winter.  If there is no work for him I might get some bookshelves put in, that would be pretty cool.  But I went away and came home to a patio out the back so hoping for bookshelves might be pushing it. 

The gardens are looking good.  All the seedlings that we planted are growing, I don't think we lost any of them to slaters which is unusual.  I think having the chickens out and scratching around in them when I was away has gotten rid of most of the slaters and other pesty bugs.

I have picked the last of the Grannys! Husband thinks they aren't quite ripe but I like them.  A bit tart, just like a Granny should be.  We didn't get all these apples, the parrots got a lot, the chooks got some...but we have a few kilos here, I will need to cook and freeze some as I think I will be the only one eating them and I don't want them wasted.   I noticed while I was out there picking them that the mandarins are starting to turn orange so we will need to net these before the parrots make a start on them too.

I have Chokos.  Not many are big enough to pick yet but there are heaps of flowers and maybe 1/2 dozen that will be ready within the week.

Chooks are still laying.  they started again while I was away and though I'm not getting as many as they say they did, we have a fridge full. 

We haven't done the extraction yet but will need to really soon.  Husband put another box on a couple of the hives when I was away so I have a couple of triple deckers out there now but we'll need to get them extracted and back down as doubles before Winter gets here.   I have cleaned the extraction shed so it is all ready to go, just waiting on us to be here with the time to make a start and I am thinking that the next warm day when we are both home might have to be that day but we are both busy for the rest of this week.  And next weekend.  And Monday, Wed and Thursday next week I am at Vinnies all day...It will happen though, it has too.

We have a pig in the coolroom, son will cut it up next week and it will be added to the near empty freezer.  We have a bit of the young bull left in there, not much but something we do have is...Venison.   And it is so nice!  Son has been wanting to get a deer for the last few years, he sometimes sees one when he is out pigging and a few weeks ago he was in the right place at the right time and BANG!   Venison on the barby.   By next month there should be another young bull in there too so meat for the rest of the year will be sorted.  If I can just keep the gardens stocked and growing then work or no work, we will be able to survive for months.

I am looking after the granddaughter again tomorrow, at Vinnies on Thursday, out to lunch on Friday, FreeMarkets on Saturday, visitors on Sunday and Vinnies again next Monday.  I remember not so long ago when I had nothing to do and nowhere to go...Sometimes we have to be careful of what we wish for...